Fun with science

Part of my science assignment this past week was to create a model of the sun and be able to explain the different layers to my siblings. We all had a fun time making the model:
Selah

Elly

Even William and Wallace enjoyed watching and listening (with Abby, Sherrod, and Sydnee)!

Here is our completed model showing the sun's core (red), photosphere (yellow), chromosphere (blue), and the corona, or sun's surface (white):

(We wanted to do the corona in yellow or orange, but we didn't have enough modeling clay, so we had to improvise!)

Some fun information:

Have you ever thought about just how big our God is? Listen to this: the sun is so big that, if it were hollow, over one million earths could fit inside it. However, the sun is just a medium-sized star compared with others!

I was particularly interested in the hot temperatures:

The corona surrounds the sun like a halo. Gases in this layer can reach temperatures up to 1,700,000 degrees Celsius. (Remember that water boils at 100 degrees Celsius!)

The chromosphere is the only layer of the sun that we can see. It is 550 kilometers thick and the temperature does not usually rise above 6,000 degrees Celsius.

The photosphere is the middle layer that gives off a faint red light. We can't see it because the other layers are too bright. It is several thousand kilometers thick. Temperatures average 27,800 degrees Celsius.

The sun's center is called the core. This is the hottest part of the sun. At its outer edges, temperatures may reach 1,000,000 degrees Celsius, but near its very center, temperatures may reach 15,000,000 degrees Celsius!

Ever wonder how scientists measure the temperature of the sun? Well, they use physics equations to calculate it. Just knowing the solar radius, mass, and the fact that the sun is supported in hydrostatic equilibrium allows them to calculate the temperatures.

posted by Sarah